Juicy and crispy cucumber Director is able to quench his thirst in the summer heat. The Dutch breeders have contributed to the emergence of such a variety, and it fully justifies its superior name.
Hybrid partenocarpic varieties of cucumbers
Harvest, harvest and once again harvest - this is what interests both summer residents and large-scale vegetable growers. That is why breeders of all countries are set to develop hybrid varieties of parthenocarpic type.
Their feature is:
- Resistance to the main types of diseases, which is especially important when growing this vegetable in the field.
- Productivity from one bush significantly exceeds the performance of conventional hybrid and varietal greenhouses. This is due to the fact that the bushes of parthenocarpic cucumbers have a more powerful root and stem system.
- The fruiting time is also longer, and some varieties, such as the Director's cucumber, can be sown twice a season and harvest equally high in early summer and late.
- Temperature differences do not practically affect the parthenocarpic varieties, which cannot be said about ordinary species or hybrid cucumbers.
- An amazing property of these greens is the absence of bitterness, even during prolonged storage.
The cucumber Director f1 belongs to this kind and has all the advantages inherent in it.
Grade description
Dutch breeders created this type of greenery for cultivation in open ground, but enterprising Russian gardeners have already tested its yield in greenhouse conditions and gave the highest reviews about it. A good variety of cucumbers, both vegetable growers and summer residents say so, and this is due to its "pedigree".
The director is a representative of parthenocarpic hybrid varieties. It is distinguished by medium-sized and medium-braided bushes with a female type of flowering. It gives numerous lateral shoots with a bundle type of ovary.
The Cucumber Director is an indeterminate type of plant with numerous dark green leaves. If you grow a similar variety in a heated greenhouse, then it can yield 9-11 months. He has no growth restrictions, so the correct formation of bushes will be required. As a rule, up to 3 female flowers are formed in one sinus.
As they say about the cucumber, the Director reviews gardeners, he has a high yield, and the ability to collect two crops per season gives him even more attractiveness in their eyes. From sowing to the first harvest 40-45 days pass. Its ability to withstand temperature changes allows you to sow it a little earlier than conventional hybrids.
Description of Zelentsy
The quality of its fruits is famous for the cucumber Director f1, this is noted by everyone who at least once tried them. All Zelentsy are distinguished by their regular cylindrical shape up to 12.5 cm in length. The thin dark green skin has a slight tubercle with a slight white pubescence.
Cucumber Director has a light dense pulp, moderately crispy and without bitterness. They can be stored for a long time, they perfectly tolerate transportation and are suitable both for salads and for preservation. Dutch breeders managed to create a hybrid that is famous for not forming voids in the pulp, which many other varieties sin.
The average weight of greenbacks of this species is 70-85 g, and the yield in the field is 300-360 kg / ha. In the event that the field is irrigated, it increases to 390 kg / ha or more.
In gardening conditions, the Director's variety of cucumbers is also distinguished by its productivity compared to other hybrids, therefore, in just 3 years (it was added to the Russian plant register in 2013), he gained many admirers both among small farms and summer residents, and among huge agricultural complexes.
Grade Benefits
Producers (Dutch company Nunhems) introduced the Director in the description of cucumbers all its advantages. In addition to high productivity, among them the most attractive for consumers are:
- The bushes of this plant are powerful and tall, they are easy to care for.
- The main thing that characterizes a good variety of cucumbers is the taste of its fruits, which is characteristic of the Director variety.
- High presentation and lack of bitterness, even during long-term storage.
- It has a very long fruiting period. Its seeds can be sown twice a season and collect two crops, removing the last greenbacks until the first frost.
- Resistant to most diseases characteristic of cucumbers.
- He is not afraid of the yellowing virus of cucumbers and powdery mildew.
- It tolerates shade well, therefore, it does not require mandatory equipment of beds in an open place.
- It gives an equally high yield both in greenhouses and greenhouses, and on open ground.
It can hardly be called a drawback that it gives a lot of stepchildren, which must be removed on time so that the yield does not decrease due to excessive load on the root system of the plant. Otherwise, what the Director says and writes about the cucumber, the characteristic given by the producer, all together they confirm that it is an excellent high-yielding variety with delicious fruits.
Features of growing Director variety
Sowing seeds is the most common way to grow cucumbers. So that they hatch faster, they should be soaked in water or a special solution that accelerates plant growth for 10-12 hours, after which they should be sown in warm, warm soil in previously prepared grooves or holes.
The sowing depth should not exceed 4 cm, and the scheme should not exceed 50x50 cm. Experienced gardeners recommend sowing no more than two seeds in one hole, and when sprouts with real leaves appear from them, it is possible to reject and weaker seedlings.
The best time for planting cucumbers Director end of April - May, when the air warmed up to + 22-24, and the soil - up to + 14-16 degrees. To protect the seeds, a previously prepared garden bed needs to be dug up and processed with a weak solution of potassium permanganate.
As a rule, the best place for the Director will be a bed after cabbage or potatoes, and since the plant is not too demanding on the presence of the sun, you can choose a slightly shaded area.
Seedlings
If you need to grow an early harvest for sale, it is better to use the seedling method of planting cucumbers Director. To get strong bushes, you need to know the following:
- Prepared containers for seedlings are filled with a ready-made soil mixture for vegetables (you can prepare it yourself), treated with a weak solution of potassium permanganate or “Extrasol-55”, diluted according to the directions on the package.
- Seeds are sown in a hole no deeper than 2 cm.
- As soon as the first true leaf is hatching, it is necessary to make the first top dressing with complex fertilizers, for example, from the Kemira series.
- Before picking, the already grown bushes need to be foliar treated with a growth biostimulator, for example, you can use Epin.
Important: on the main bed of seedlings of the variety the Director must be planted in a checkerboard pattern at a distance according to the scheme 50x60 cm between the bushes. The distance between the aisles should be 80 cm - 1 m. The rule should be adhered to that there should be no more than four plants on an open bed per m 2 , and three in a greenhouse.
Cucumber Care
Although the Director variety is considered unpretentious, for which many gardeners immediately fell in love with it, standard care for it should be carried out. It includes the following:
- If cucumbers are grown in a greenhouse, then irrigation with warm water should be carried out at the first drying of the soil. In the garden, especially on hot days, you can water daily, but only in the evening, using the warm and the sun-warmed water.
- Root top dressing should be carried out 3-4 times per season, for which you can use bird droppings or manure diluted in warm water.
- Foliar top dressing is done every 10-14 days, for this you can use diluted complex mineral fertilizers.
- If the Director's cucumbers grow in the garden, then they should pinch after the 8th-9th leaf appears on the main lash. In a greenhouse, this variety requires the formation of a stem.
Important: for prevention, plants can be sprayed with fungicides, but this is not necessary. This variety is sufficiently protected from diseases and pests at the stage of elimination.
Comparison with other varieties
If we draw parallels with other hybrids of cucumbers on the market, then the partenocarpic variety Director stands out against their background with higher productivity, a long fruiting period and greenery with excellent taste without bitterness. Another distinctive feature of the Director variety is a double crop rotation, which allows you to harvest twice, removing the last cucumbers already during the first frost.
Reviews of vegetable growers
Three years is too short a time for a large number of vegetable growers to get acquainted with the new Dutch hybrid, but those who have tried it note unusually high varieties in all the main parameters: yield, disease resistance, ease of care, and taste indicators of greens. The Director has a great future for cucumbers in the fields of Russia and in the plots of summer residents.